The Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies is pleased to announce that Anna Pilarczyk-Palaitis has been awarded the 2026-2027 Research Grant for Emerging Scholars.
The research grants of up to $6,000 support early-career scholars in any field of Baltic Studies. Proposals are evaluated according to the scholarly potential of the applicant and the quality and scholarly importance of the proposed work, especially to the development of Baltic Studies. Funds may be used for travel, duplication, materials, equipment, or other needs as specified.
The 2026 applications were evaluated by the AABS 2025-2026 Grants and Awards Committee consisting of AABS VP for Professional Development Dr. Kaarel Piirimäe, AABS President Dr. Jörg Hackmann, and AABS Director-at-Large Dr. Dovilė Budrytė. Learn about the other 2026-2027 recipients here.
Anna Ewa Pilarczyk-Palaitis, PhD, is a researcher and lecturer at the Centre for Social Anthropology at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania. Her research interests include identity, memory, and ethnic minorities in Central and Eastern Europe. Pilarczyk-Palaitis is the author and co-author of a growing body of academic publications and is actively involved in international research projects. As a social anthropologist, she combines ethnographic research with public engagement, collaborating with museums and UNESCO heritage initiatives, and working in documentary filmmaking and podcasting to bring academic knowledge into broader public dialogue. Pilarczyk-Palaitis is also a board member of the Lithuanian Anthropological Association.
Project Overview: Between Memory and Oblivion: A Pilot Ethnographic Study of Narratives of the Post-War “Repatriation” of Poles from Lithuania
The aim of this project is to conduct a preliminary analysis of existing memory narratives surrounding the post-war so-called “repatriation” from Soviet-occupied Lithuania to the Polish People’s Republic – a process which, between 1945 and 1956, resulted in the relocation of more than 240,000 people out of an estimated Polish population of approximately 400,000 in Lithuania. As a result of the resettlement the Polish minority in Lithuania lost not only 60 percent of its population, but also over 80 percent of its intelligentsia – a loss from which it has not been able to fully recover to this day. Despite its profound demographic, social, and cultural consequences, this historical process remains insufficiently examined, particularly from the perspective of social anthropology. As a pilot ethnographic study, the project seeks to offer an initial exploration of how memory discourses have been shaped, silenced, or contested across generations in both countries.